Presidential poll: Congress wooing MNS

July 18, 2012 20:21 IST

The Congress in Maharashtra is making all efforts to woo the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena to back United Progressive Alliance nominee Pranab Mukherjee for the presidential poll on Thursday.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is understood to have phoned Thackeray, seeking the support of the MNS, which has 12 members in the 288-member Legislative Assembly.

During his visit to Mumbai earlier this month, the National Democratic Alliance-backed presidential candidate P A Sangma had also sought Raj Thackeray's support.

However, the Congress feels it would manage to get the MNS boss' nod. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshwardhan Patil is holding talks with MNS leaders, sources said. The minister has also spoken to MNS Member of Legislative Assembly Bala Nandgaonkar.

Following is the party position in Assembly, where each vote has value of 175: